Burned
by Silmarion
Summary: A short oneshot written for Desert.Moon's story 'The Obsession'. Features the thoughts of the character Kuraho Abura as he stands before the funeral pyre of his best friend.


Abura stood gazing into the intense inferno before him. The beauty of the flames was almost enough to take his mind off the fact that they were cradling the body of his dead best friend. Almost.

He tried in vain to block out the memories as they crashed around his mind like a tidal wave. They were crystal clear and each time they played it actually caused him physical pain. Each slice of that man's sword into his friend was a slice across his mind, across his heart.

And yet, after some time—he really had no idea how long he had been pouring his chakra into the pyre—he no longer felt any of it. He was becoming numb. Numb like he had been at that moment when he first realized his friend was dead. That moment before he had been deceived by Takara.

The fire flared angrily as he thought of his other teammate. She lied to him. That, in and of itself, was not surprising. She was a liar. It's what she does time and time again. But this time? This time it wasn't just one of her harmless lies and Abura wasn't just one of her usual unknowing victims.

He was her fellow shinobi and citizen of Suna. He was her teammate. But more importantly than that, he was her friend. A shinobi can't afford the luxury of making many friends in his line of work. But when he does the bond is strong. So why did she think it was okay to break that bond? To break that trust?

Abura knew the answer. There was no sense in trying to deny it because it was so clear, so obvious to anyone.

Takara could lie to him, ignore his feelings, convince herself of his impartiality because Abura wasn't _him _and he would never _be_ _him. _

It was clear that everything Takara said, did, or thought revolved around that demon, that monster. She was completely oblivious to the feelings of anyone else. Even her teammate.

It wasn't infatuation or a crush. Abura wouldn't deny that he loved Takara. But the love wasn't like that of boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife. It was something much deeper and much stronger. They had made it through the forest of death together. They had seen each other take the life of another human being. They had won together and lost together. She knew his weaknesses and strengths and he knew hers. They were comrades, companions. Someone who you were forced to put all of your trust into until it just became second nature.

So why couldn't she trust him? His only reason for trying to interfere with her obsession was to protect her. How could she not see the danger in getting too close to a demon?

Although he would never admit it, Abura knew that he would give his life in a heartbeat to protect his teammates.

Just like Eiri did.

Eiri.

_Eiri._

Abura had never been burnt in his life. But he could imagine that the searing pain that streaked across the numbness when he thought his friend's name must be pretty close to what it would feel like to be shrouded in flames when you have no control over them.

Trembling, he subconsciously threw up a shield, blocking the name from entering his mind again.

The flames seemed to shiver as he did, casting eerie shadows on his surroundings. For the first time in…well he really didn't know how long. Hours? Maybe days. For the first time in however long, he took his eyes off the firestorm to peek at the figure standing next to him.

He was surprised to see that almost everyone else had left. He must have been there longer than he thought. But he was even more surprised to see who companion was.

Isane's stance confused Abura. Sure, he and Takara had made jokes in Konoha regarding the trap specialist and weapons master. But her actions far exceeded those of a simple friend or even a girlfriend.

Takara had told him what Isane said before their fight

"Village before friends."

And yet here she was, the hitai-ate that was once tied around her waist cast in the dirt at that cursed place, it's abandonment a symbol of the desertion of her village.

She left behind everything—village, friends, family, teammates, sensei—all for what? Abura couldn't put his finger on it, so he finally let it rest.

Days and nights blurred together into one endless nightmare. He knew that others would probably question his sanity and wonder why, day after day, he continued to stare at the blaze before him, standing so close the flames almost reached out and tickled him with each slight gust of wind.

Abura knew when his chakra had reached a dangerously low level. He knew what the darkness creeping around the edge of his vision was. He knew the consequences if he continued to push himself past his limit.

He just couldn't bring himself to care.

If he died he wouldn't feel so scared and angry. If he died he wouldn't have to put up with a dad that didn't care about him anymore. If he died he could be with his best friend. If he died….

His mother's heart would break.

His already fractured team would be shattered and Takara and Chie-sensei would probably be driven to the point of insanity. Not that Takara was far from it anyway.

Abura knew that he couldn't die. For the sake of his mother, sensei and teammate he had to stay alive.

But he still couldn't stop the flow of chakra.

He was mentally, emotionally and physically past the point of exhaustion. Every second was a struggle to maintain consciousness. But he still couldn't bring himself to allow such a beautiful, vibrant flame die out. It would be like witnessing the death of his friend all over again. Once this fire was gone there would be nothing left of the blonde boy but a name carved on a stone.

No. That wasn't right. There would always be a piece of him around.

He had managed to carve his name in Abura's heart just like he once carved it into the tabletop in Konoha. And Abura knew his heart wasn't the only one.

That annoying blonde had touched Chie-sensei and Takara as well. His family too. His mother and father. Little Mei. And Isane.

Abura knew that as long as they lived, they would all carry a piece of the weapons master with them.

Knowing this, he finally allowed himself to stop fighting off the heavy darkness. He collapsed to the ground and his eyes slid shut. Before he was swallowed completely, Abura felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Opening a bleary he looked up and saw blonde hair and crystal blue eyes.

"Goodbye Eiri," he whispered, finally drifting off to sleep.


End file.
